Participating in a new approach to community change-making
CORE Application for Consultants
Where to start
Welcome to the CORE Match for Change process. As a first step, please thoroughly review the
information on our website,www.consultingforchange.org, before proceeding including the overview
of the process and timeline, our definitions, elegibility criteria, and confidentiality policy which explains
how the information you provide here will be shared during the Match for Change process. If you have
questions, submit a request through the website and we’ll respond promptly.
What you should know
1. CORE doesn’t take the broadest view of consultants and their work. We don’t expect to
know everything you’ve ever done, are qualified to do or could do in a pinch. Instead, we
explore great matches, so we take a deliberately appreciative (and also narrower) view in the
questions that follow.
2. Your responses need not be perfect. As part of the CORE process, you will explore your
responses further in a Learning Conversation with two trained CORE Connectors. Early next
year we will incorporate the information we learn about you and your work into a simple
portfolio format and ask your permission to keep that compilation on file as we assess the fit
with future capacity-building requests. In other words, your answers here represent the
beginning of a process, not the end.
3. Your responses should stand alone. While you will submit a resume with your application,
we ask that you provide complete responses to our prompts without referring to your resume
or website. Write here what you most want us to know, expecting that this may be the only
information some CORE participants learn about you.
NOTE for consultants who applied to CORE’s match-making process in 2013: If you are a
consultant who completed an application and participated in a Learning Conversation in 2013 (Round
2), you are eligible to participate this year (Round 3) without completing the full application. You will
be provided with the “harvest” of your application and Learning Conversation and invited to participate
in an abbreviated Learning Conversation in which you will have an opportunity to:
 Clarify points on the harvest summaries created from Round 2
 Respond to a new category of question: What distinguishes you? What makes you and your
work unique?
If you have questions, please contact Julie at core.julieandersen@gmail.com
What happens after you apply
After CORE receives your resume and application,due September 5th by nooon, we will confirm your
eligibility and send a brief email outlining next steps, including how and when you can expect to hear
from your CORE Connectors to set up a 90-minute Learning Conversation. Please see the timeline on
our website, www.consultingforchange.org/consultants.html, for a complete timeline. We also will
include a Paypal link for payment of your $50 participation fee.
We appreciate your prompt attention to the confirmation and payment request.
Are you ready?
Do you meet the definition of consultant as detailed on the CORE website? If so, dive in!
CORE Application for Consultants
Summer/Fall 2014 | Page 2
Section 1: Introduction
A. What entity is applying to CORE?
Name of sole proprietor,
partnership, consortium,
firm or other entity
Street address
City
State
Zip
Website
Years in business as this
entity
B. Who is the lead contact person for this application?
First name
Middle initial
Last name
Best daytime phone
Other phone
Email address
C. What languages do you use in your consulting practice? Please mark an “x” next to
languages you consult in.
English
Spanish
Hmong
Other
(specify):
D. Have you had any consulting contract or engagement terminated for default in the last five
years? Please mark an “x” next to the appropriate response.
No
Yes
If yes, provide full details,
including the other party’s name,
address and phone number, so
CORE can collect additional
information about this situation.
Type your response here.
E. CORE continues to learn from this work and the people who participate. If you are selected
by an applicant organization to work on a capacity building project with them, do you agree
to participate with CORE in a written and/or in-person evaluation of the process? Please
sign here to indicate your agreement.
Signature: _________________________________________________
CORE Application for Consultants
Summer/Fall 2014 | Page 3
Section 2: Appreciative view of you and your work
Remember, CORE doesn’t expect to know everything you’ve ever done, are qualified to do or could
do in a pinch. Instead, we explore great matches, so we take a deliberately appreciative (and also
narrower) view. Also remember that your responses need not be perfect. They are a place to start.
NOTE: If you are applying as a partnership, consortium or firm, address each prompt below with one
response representing the whole entity. In other words, take “you” to mean the collective entity. Do
not write individual responses for each person in the collective. Please do, however, provide one
person as the lead contact person above.
D. In no more than 250 words, describe the people, groups and organizations with whom you
do your best work. What qualities/values do they share? What strengths do they exhibit?
What challenges do they face?
Ideal Clients
Type your response here.
E. In no more than 300 words, describe the kinds of work you do with these people, groups
and organizations—the work you do best, enjoy most, seek out above all other work. For
each area of work you love, provide a name (e.g., “team building” or “board development”),
provide a brief description of what you mean by than name, and tell us how long you’ve
been doing that kind of work. Also briefly describe the most exciting areas of growth you
plan to explore in the next year or two.
Ideal Work
Type your response here.
F. In no more than 300 words, describe yourself. Include the elements of your style, values,
approach and experience that most clearly serve as the foundation of and support the work
you described in the previous section. You may wish to highlight experience as staff,
volunteer or consultant with nonprofit and community-benefit organizations and lessons
learned in that arena.
Your Style /
Experience
Type your response here.
G. In no more than 100 words, highlight what makes you stand out from others in your field.
What makes you and your work unique? If you were searching for someone just like
yourself, what types of key words would you search? (Note: CORE is not heading towards
a searchable database that would use keywords. We are looking for how to distinguish
you, what sets you apart, what speaks to your style, values, ideal work, etc.) You may
choose to highlight aspects of your responses to questions D, E, and F.
Your
Distinguishing
Characteristics /
Qualities
Type your response here.
CORE Application for Consultants
Summer/Fall 2014 | Page 4
Section 3: References
In the section below, please provide reference information about three projects/contracts from the last
five years that demonstrate your ability to provide capacity-building support to social change, social,
economic or environmental justice, advocacy, or community-building groups.
By providing this information, you grant CORE permission to contact these references.
G. Reference 1
Client organization name
Primary contact name
Primary contact title
Email address
Best daytime phone
Other phone
City
State
Project start date
Project end date
Brief description of
engagement, including
work you provided
Brief description of
outcome(s)
H. Reference 2
Client organization name
Primary contact name
Primary contact title
Email address
Best daytime phone
Other phone
City
State
Project start date
Project end date
Brief description of
engagement, including
work you provided
CORE Application for Consultants
Summer/Fall 2014 | Page 5
Brief description of
outcome(s)
I.
Reference 3
Client organization name
Primary contact name
Primary contact title
Email address
Best daytime phone
Other phone
City
State
Project start date
Project end date
Brief description of
engagement, including
work you provided
Brief description of
outcome(s)
CORE Application for Consultants
Summer/Fall 2014 | Page 6
OPTIONAL Section 4: Demographics
CORE does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, race/ethnicity or any other category. Your
provision of the following information is completely voluntary—and collecting it helps us gauge the
effectiveness of our efforts to reach a diverse pool of capacity-building providers.
If you are applying on behalf of a partnership, consortium or firm, please answer for the lead contact
listed on page 2.
J. What is your gender? Please mark an “x” next to the appropriate response.
Female
Male
Transgendered/gender queer
Prefer not to say
K. Which category matches your age? Please mark an “x” next to the appropriate response.
18 to 35
36-55
56-75
Over 75
Prefer not to say
L. What is your racial/ethnic background? Please mark an “x” next to the appropriate response.
Asian/Pacific Islander
Black/African-American
Caucasian
Hispanic
Native American/Alaska Native
Other/Multi-Racial
Prefer not to say
DON’T FORGET YOUR RESUME!
Return your completed application to Julie Andersen core.julieandersen@gmail.com no later than
noon on Friday, September 5th, and be sure to attach a current resume. If you are applying on
behalf of a partnership, consortium or firm, include a current resume for each person you hope to
“match” through the CORE process.
Thank you for applying to CORE. We hope the process of completing this application has been a
valuable opportunity for reflection worth your time. We look forward to getting to know you better.